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Monday, 26 January 2015

4th Guards Tank Brigade in the Berlin Offensive Operation

The following vehicles were in possession of the 4th Guards Army as of April 10th, 1945 (CAMD RF 236-2673-2714).

Vehicle

Engine-hours expended in functional vehicles

Vehicles that worked past the warranty limit

0

0-50

50-100

100-150

150-200

200-250

T-34-85

20

16

26

36

168

-

12

T-34-76

-

4

1

-

-

-

IS-122

12

-

14

-

-

-

ISU-122

-

-

-

11

-

-

SU-100

-

-

9

20

-

-

SU-85

3

1

-

-

-

-

SU-57

-

21

14

6

2

-

MK-9/10

-

1

-

-

-

-

SU-122

3

-

-

-

-

-

SU-76

3

1

-

-

-

-

Most of these vehicles are running on V-2 variants, aside from the few oddballs: SU-57 (M2 halftrack with 57 mm AT gun), MK-9/10 (late Valentine modification), and SU-76s which run on a pair of car engines.

There are also 10 tanks and 5 SPGs in light repairs, 24 tanks and 4 SPGs in medium repairs, and 26 tanks and 14 SPGs in major repairs, with a total of 83 vehicles undergoing repairs for all reasons.

Plan of the Berlin Offensive Operation

After this information is gathered, the Army is thrown into the Berlin Offensive Operation. Tanks outpace infantry in deep, bold offensives to encircle the enemy, but, perhaps more importantly, reach Berlin first. A panicked note from Konev read: "Zhukov's forces are within 10 km of Berlin. You must reach the city first, at any cost."

The 4th Guards Tank Army gets no rest. After Berlin fell, they have a new objective: eliminate the enemy forces in Czechoslovakia, so another inventory is taken. As of May 6th, the beginning of the offensive, the Army has 309 total tanks remaining in fighting condition: 203 T-34-85s, 3 T-34-76es, the one Valentine, 17 IS tanks, 30 SU-57s, 20 SU-76, 6 SU-85, 19 SU-100, 2 SU-122, and 8 ISU-122. 8 vehicles were undergoing light repairs, 48 were undergoing medium repairs, and 29 undergoing major repairs. This figure is not much greater than at the beginning of the Berlin Offensive Operation (only two additional vehicles). 11 tanks have been cleared out of the major repairs category (quite a feat, as a major repair is a total replacement of all components and is estimated to take 1600 man-hours, and even that is at a factory and not in the field). The light repair category has shrunk in half, but the medium repairs category has grown by 20 units from 28 to 48. A medium repair consists of a replacement of several assemblies, so it takes in tanks that are pretty beat up. If many tanks fall into the medium repairs category, either they have taken many hits in combat or have had many components worn down, without any specific one being a limiting factor.

The fighting force of the Army has been reduced considerably during this operation, from 412 tanks to 309. Of course, these losses weren't for nothing, as the Army destroyed the following during the course of the operation (April 16th-May 3rd):

Tanks and SPGs: 285

Guns of various calibers: 589

APCs: 225

Cars: 1562

Machineguns: 869

Mortars: 339

"Six-barreled mortars" (Nebelwerfers): 19

Motorcycles: 251

Radios: 4

Airplanes: 35

Carts: 1730

Convoys with military goods: 5

Telephone-telegraph stations: 1

Motorboats: 13

Bicycles: 2000

Rifles and submachineguns: 2500

Military warehouses: 40

Soldiers and officers: 42855

In addition to the destroyed items, the Army captured the following:

Tanks and SPGs: 25

Guns of various calibers: 62

APCs: 21

Motorcycles: 236

Cars: 1877

Machineguns: 622

Rifles and submachineguns: 6604

Airplanes (functional): 227

Airplanes (nonfunctional): 265

Locomotives: 57

Train cars: 2507

Airports: 5

Aircraft engines: 362

Airplane bombs: 3000

Parachutes: 1000

AA gun shells: 124000

Mortars: 188

Bicycles: 1300

Barges: 2

Military warehouses: 319

Factories and workshops: 110

Soldiers and officers: 31350

In addition, 38620 prisoners of war, including 10000 Soviet citizens, were liberated.